luttgens



(No Model.)

H. A. LUTTGENS.

THILL COUPLING, No. 260,107. Patented June 27, 1882'.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. 'LUTTGENS, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY.

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 260,107, dated June 27,1882.

Application filedDecember 9, 1881.

10 all whom it may concern Beit known that I, HENRY AUGUSTUS LUTT- GENS,of the city of Paterson, county of Passaic, and State of New Jersey,have made certain Improvements in Thill-Oouplings; and-I do herebydeclare that the following is a correct description and specification ofthe same,

reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in which like lettersrepresent the same parts in all the figures.

.My invention isan improvement upon a thill-coupling for which LettersPatent of the -of a horse upon a straight road will produce a horizontalrocking movement of the springcover and a vertical movement of thespring, thereby causing a rolling motion at the point of contact betweenthill-iron and spring-cover, which latter is made so as to be adapted toits peculiar position. In other respects the coupling is similar in itsparts to the one described in the original patent, though modified inshape. The axle-clip and hook-bearing are made in one piece and unitedwith the coupling-box by a rivet. A leather dust-guard may be provided,secured to the ends of the shafts by the lower bolts uniting the shaftends and thill-irons.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of thethill-coupling. Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5 show the various positions of thethill-iron in the coupling incident to its use. Figs.6, 7, and 8represent the coupling in three views upon a larger scale, and Figs. 9to 13 separate details of the same.

A represents a portion of a carriage-axle; E, the thill-iron of acarriage-shaft; B, the coupling-box, which is connected from side toside bythe bottom web, t.

D is the hook-bearing, which is formed into an axle-clip and secured tothe coupling-box by a steel pin or rivet, the Whole coupling be ingfirmly secured to the axle and united in its parts by the bolt formingpart of the axleclip.

(No model.)

C is the spring-cover, which has projecting sides downward and rearward,which enter the coupling below the axle A. The tenons or projections 20a form part of this cover and hold it within the coupling-box B. Apointed projection, V, is formed at the end of the cover. Projections Xon the inner sides and bottom of the coupling-box are of the same widthas the projecting sides of cover 0, and limit its downward movement.

The steel spring S is made of a width to enter freely into the cover 0.Its lower end is bent to enter a recess which is formed into aprojection, d, at the front of bottom web, t, of

coupling-boxB. This projection enters the bottom of cover 0. The upperend of spring S supports the spring-cover 0, so that as nearly aspossible all the points of contact fall in a straight line fromhook-bearing D to springbearing d, including thill'iron E andspringcover 0. Dust-guards W, secured to the shaft by bolts and washers,may be provided, as shown. The ends of the thill-irons for a pole arethe same as when used with shafts, being bent at a short distance fromthe thill-coupling and shaped to be welded to the pole-irons.

The thill-iron E is preferably made of Low Moor iron, the hook end beingcase-hardened, theaxle-clip D of Norway iron, the end formin g thehook-bearing also being case-h ardened. The spring-cover C may be madeof cast-steel, and the coupling-box B of malleable iron or cast-steel.Fig. 2 represents the thill-iron E at the point of entering thecoupling, a slight blow being necessary to enter the same, as also whenthe shafts are being detached from the coupling. The steel spring S,when in the position as shown at Fig. 2, is considerably relieved ofpressure; also, after'the thill-irons enter the coupling, when theshafts are placed in the positions shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the shaftsbeing raised when the thill-irons are in the position indicated by Fig.3, or the ends of the shafts resting upon the ground when in theposition indicated by Fig. 5. The spring S receives its full pressureonly when the shafts are in use or the thill-iron placed as indicated inFig. 4, when the horse is in the shafts.

The ordinary movements of a horse when walking or trotting ona straightroad produce while it causes friction between thill-hook andhook-bearing, only causes a rolling movement at the point of contactbetween-thill-iron E and spring-cover O, on account of the peculiarrelative position of the points of contact, thus causing none or littlewearexcept when the movement becomes greater, as when the carriage ismoving over short hills or through gutters.

I claim- 1. The pointed projection V at the end of spring-cover G, incombination with thill-iron

